Extra White

Extra White is a cool white with a subtle blue-gray undertone, and its name promises more brightness than it delivers: consultants are careful to say it is a soft, slightly cool white rather than a brilliant one. In a south- or west-facing room the blue all but disappears and it reads crisp and clean.

In north light the undertone shows. It can look gray or faintly blue, and in a room without much light the corners 'shadow out' and go dingy — a color consultancy says plainly that it does not recommend Extra White for low-light rooms. It is a white for bright spaces.

There is one more wrinkle. Because trim and cabinet paints use a different base from wall paints, Extra White can look slightly warmer on trim than it does on a wall in the same room. If you are matching walls and trim in it, sample both products.

Extra White is a very popular trim and ceiling white, and that is its natural job: a clean, cool edge against almost any wall color, and a bright ceiling that does not add warmth. It is also the go-to white for the inside of closets and pantries.

On cabinets it works with cool quartz and Carrara marble, where a warm white would look yellow. On walls it is a whole-house option only in a house flooded with light; otherwise it is better kept to trim.

Outdoors it is a common trim white on cool-toned siding. As an exterior body color it needs care around warm stone or a warm roof, which will make it look blue.

Sherwin-Williams' own coordinating colors for Extra White are Smoky Azurite SW 9148 and Charcoal Blue SW 2739; the pairings that recur among designers are Iron Ore SW 7069, Sea Salt SW 6204 and cool grays. Carrara marble and cool quartz are its natural stone partners.

It sits badly beside warm whites. Alabaster SW 7008, Swiss Coffee OC-45 and other creams look yellow next to it, and it looks blue next to them. Extensive warm wood has the same effect.

Its relatives are Pure White SW 7005, which is warmer and softer, High Reflective White SW 7757, which is brighter with virtually no undertone, and Benjamin Moore's Super White OC-152 and Chantilly Lace OC-65, both slightly brighter.

It fails in dim rooms. Without light its blue-gray reads as gray and the room looks dingy; this is the most consistent warning in every review of it.

It fails with warm finishes. Warm wood, cream tile, yellow-veined marble and warm beige all fight its blue, and in a warm-toned house it can look like the wrong white in every room.

And it fails the expectation in its name. Anyone choosing Extra White because they want the brightest white Sherwin-Williams makes should look at High Reflective White instead — Extra White is softer and a touch darker than its name suggests.